Gilbert now officially McCoy’s backup

AUSTIN — There are no redshirts in Garrett Gilbert’s foreseeable future.

Gilbert, the heralded freshman from Lake Travis, is now the Texas Longhorns’ second-string quarterback, UT coach Mack Brown said Thursday. Gilbert had been in what Brown called a “dead heat” with junior Sherrod Harris in the race to become Colt McCoy’s backup, but Harris pulled a ribcage muscle and hasn’t been able to throw the ball this week. So for the time being, Gilbert will get all of the practice snaps with the No. 2 offense.

This was not exactly a stunning development, as even coming out of high school Gilbert was viewed as a more polished passer than Harris. If Gilbert holds on to the backup role, it will allow him to get some playing time as a freshman this fall, then take over the starting job as a sophomore in 2010.

In other news Thursday:

Brown said junior John Chiles, who has moved to wide receiver full-time after spending the early part of his UT working out at quarterback, is one of the five receivers who have separated from the rest of the pack in a deep position for the Longhorns. The others Brown mentioned are Jordan Shipley, James Kirkendoll, Malcolm Williams and Brandon Collins. In addition, Dan Buckner — who is working as a flex tight end — figures to get plenty of opportunities to catch passes.

Meanwhile, there has been no separation between Fozzy Whittaker and Vondrell McGee at tailback, and Brown said, “I don’t think there will be.” Whittaker and McGee will likely enter the season splitting time fairly evenly, with Whittaker as the primary third-down back. Cody Johnson, Jeremy Hills, Tre Newton and receiver D.J. Monroe are getting repetitions are also getting repetitions at tailback, but Johnson is looking more like a fullback/short-yardage specialist, and the other three are trying to break in on third-down situations.

In addition to Monroe and Johnson, there are a number of other Longhorns cross-training at two or more positions. The most notable is junior offensive lineman Tray Allen, who has spent the last week working at defensive tackle. Brown said Lamarr Houston, Ben Alexander and Kheeston Randall are clearly the top three defensive tackles in camp, but he’d like the Longhorns to be able to rely on two more. Allen and sophomore Tyrell Higgins might be those guys.

Other “cross-trainers” include Houston (defensive tackle and fullback), Dominique Jones (defensive end and tight end), Dravannti Johnson (defensive end and tight end) and Ryan Roberson (linebacker, fullback and tailback).

Among the true freshmen who look like safe bets to play early in the season are Gilbert, tight end Barrett Matthews, defensive end Alex Okafor and offensive lineman Mason Walters. Running back Chris Whaley, who ran the ball six consecutive times during Wednesday’s scrimmage, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin and defensive back Kenny Vaccaro have turned coaches’ heads and could eventually become factors this season, too.